Don’t Worry, Be Happy

You thought things were bad? Think again. Things are really bad. Michael Taft cuts through the (admittedly half-hearted) government spin to present our economic situation as it really is:

“If one were to look at the headline rate – GDP – you’d say, well, it’s not great in Ireland but we’re doing better than the Eurozone.

However, when one looks below the headline rates, another picture emerges – of an Irish economy falling further behind Eurozone averages. When we remove the froth of the multi-national driven export sector (an ‘enclave’ as the IMF described it), we see our economy for what it is: a sluggard.”

Or dead in the water. Taft then lists the true indicators of where we are at and where we may be heading with a final telling point:

“Where does Ireland stand in the Eurozone tables regarding domestic growth?

Ireland is well down the table. Irish GNI/GNP is expected to ‘grow’ by 0.1 percent over the next two years. The average growth for other EU-15 countries is 1.4 percent. But the average growth for those countries not in bail-out (excluding Ireland, Greece and Portugal), the average growth rate is projected to be 2.1 percent. 2.1 percent to 0.1 percent: that is the comparative measurement that should alarm and depress us.”

Indeed.